Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Spring Saison

I should never drink beer while painting.

It's not that I'm worried about becoming impaired and spilling paint on the flooror worse, in my beeror about some other mishap. I'm also not worried about getting paint on my faceI can do that without drinking.The problem with me painting a room (in this case, my ensuite bathroom) is that I tend to focus on the job, taking as few breaks as possible. And so, with this weekend's reno, where I spent a couple of hours painting, I shouldn't have poured myself a glass of beer because it took almost four hours to drink it.Luckily, the beer held up the entire time. I also had another bottle, that I could enjoy last night, after the painting was done.My friend and fellow beer blogger, Katy Watts, was recently in New York and brought me a seasonal that will most likely be gone by the time I hit the Big Apple in May.

Appearance: rich gold and cloudy, with a thick, foamy-white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a fine lace.Nose: pineapple and orange, with a touch of honey.Palate: orange rind, spices, flint, with dry hops and another touch of honey in the finish.Overall impression: this traditional Belgian-styled saison, which is fermented in its 750-ml bottle, is a refreshing ale that will welcome in the spring, hopefully in time for patio season. This saison, along with the recent one I tried from Beau's, are changing my mind about this type of ale, which I tended to shy away from.If you can find some (none in the LCBO), stock up. Savour it. Just like I did when I was painting, and the next evening.Cheers!

In a follow-up to my review of the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, I wanted to let you know that I had my second bottle on Saturday, at breakfast. My wife made me a fried-egg sandwich with Swiss cheese and tomatoes. We didn't have any bacon or other tasty meats, which I typically add to these sandwiches, but I didn't need it. The beer more than made up for its absence.While I thoroughly enjoyed the beer with my breakfast sandwich, I can't say the same for the accompanying fruit. Smoke beer does not go well with sweet, ripe, freshly chopped pineapple. The sweetness and acidity clashed with the smoky bitterness.But it was a worthwhile experience.